There and Back Again: The Wanderer's Tale
by pvtmountainface
Summary: Xian Ling's life was great. She had lived in the Vault all her life, and was content to stay there forever. But one day, her life is thrown into chaos. Now, forced out of the Vault, she must use her abilities to find her father and save the Capital Wasteland. Pseudo-Novilization, stealth-centered LW, slight FLW/Amata with little story impact.
1. Chapter 1

**So, I finally got up the courage to post some of my writing on this site. I figured I'd start off easy, do a pseudo-novelization of one of my favorite games, Fallout 3. I apologize in advance for any holes missing from the actual game; I'm getting most of the from my memory and walkthroughs. I would also, for annoying legal reasons, like to say that I own nothing. This story is merely my attempt to make a not-for-profit novelization of their amazing game. That is all.**

* * *

My first memories are of an incredibly loud noise, like tons of metal scraping against each other. I'd asked my father about it in the past, but he always brushed it off or ignored me altogether. But I know I heard it, and I fully intend to learn more about it.

I walk through the halls of Vault 101, pondering that memory as I always do. I barely realize I haven't seen anyone yet. What's more, I woke up around noon, which never happens. My father always has me wake up early with him so he could tell me stories as I help him work. As my mind juggles between my strange memories and the ominous feeling I'm getting, I reach the Vault's cafe. I casually press a button and walk in, noticing immediately that all the lights are off. But suddenly, they're on.

"Surprise!" I hear familiar voices shout as my eyes begin to recover from the sudden light. As my vision returns, I see the cafe full, all but some of the security guard standing throughout the small room. My dad is walking up to me.

"Happy birthday, honey!" he says to me proudly. "I can't believe you're already ten. Your mother would be so proud." He smiles softly down at me and pats my head. Embarrassed, I try to swat away his hand, and he seems to understand. A hand rests on his shoulder for a moment. I can see the Overseer behind him, gently prompting my father to move aside.

After a few formal pleasantries, he gives me my new PIP Boy 3000 before walking off. I've never really liked him, but he's my best friend's father, so naturally I treat him with respect. A few of the other adults wish me a happy birthday and give some gifts, but I don't really care. I have never understood what the point of birthdays are in the first place; admittedly, I had forgotten it was today. I'm touched that Amata put all this together for me, and would deal with it for her sake.

As I strolled around talking to the adults, I noticed Butch and his "gang" sitting at their usual table, trying to make a point of avoiding them, I go talk to Amata for a bit. I share the sweetroll I was given with her, and we just hang out in the corner chatting. I don't even notice Butch walking up to me.

"Hey, birthday girl.!" he almost yells. "Give me that sweetroll you had!" He was taking advantage of having me in a corner.

"Sorry Butch," I say with a small smile, "I already ate it. Why don't you just have some cake?" Immediately after saying that, I hear a saw, and the voice of the robot who started it.

"Alright everyone, It's time to cut the cake!" Butch, Amata, and I run around the corner just in time to watch cake pieces fly everywhere. Everyone freezes, just standing in shock at the damage done to the cake. Butch, who was in front of me, slowly turns to reveal a face covered in cake and frosting. Amata and I start trying to hold in our laughter. We fail.

"I don't think that's what she meant," Amata says, and bursts out laughing. I do as well. Butch just scowls at us and storms out. That only fuels further laughter. It takes a bit for us to recover, and by the time we do most of the cake is cleaned up and Andy has been banned from cake-cutting duties forever.

"That was great," I say to my friend as we catch our breath.

"Yeah," Amata replies with a sigh, followed by a small giggle. "Did you see Butch's face?" I let out my own giggle, confirming that I did.

"Hey sweetie," I hear from behind me. I let out a small yelp of surprise and quickly turn to see my dad standing behind me.

"Dad!" I yell, my face definitely bright red.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," he says in the same soft tone as always. "I just wanted to show you something."

I look at him with confusion. "What is it?" I ask/

"Follow me. Amata, could you stay here? We'll be right back, and you two can have the rest of the day to yourselves.

"Of course sir," she replies, nodding respectfully. With that, my dad begins leading me out of the cafe, and into the winding halls of the Vault. We walk in silence, and finally stop as we reach a locked door. It was just one of the many places I've always wanted enter, but couldn't without the right clearance. My dad types a code into the pad next to the door, and if slides open. He gestures to the stairwell leading down.

"Go on ahead, I'll be down in a moment," he says, waiting for me to head down. I look at him, but he just gives me a reassuring look and nods. Trusting my father, I begin to descend the stairs.

I reach the bottom to find Jonas, my dad's friend, standing in a corner. I move to hide, but he catches me before I can.

"Just what do you think you're doing down here young lady?" he asks, approaching me.

"I- My- I was told-" I stammer, not sure what to do. Jonas just chuckles, kneeling down and placing a hand on my head.

"I'm just joking. You're not in trouble." I look at him, unsure if he's telling the truth. His face tells me he is. "Now, where's your dad?"

As he asks that, I hear footsteps and turn to see my father standing with his hands behind his gifts.

"Hey James," Jonas says, standing to greet him. "You have the gift?"

"Yeah," my dad says, not revealing what he has behind his back. Looking down at me, he smiles the same proud smile he always has. "Xian, I have a surprise for you." I look at him in confusion. He rarely has surprises, knowing I don't like them. He also rarely uses my name, preferring to say 'sweetie' or 'honey'. Seeing my confusion, he continues. "Jonas' as I had a very hard time getting this, but I think you'll like it. We figured that if you're ready to have a Pip-boy, you can have this." He reveals what he'd been hiding, and my face almost explodes in happiness. "Your very own BB gun!"

* * *

6 YEARS LATER

"Do I have to?" I ask my father, trying to get out of this

"Yes. Everyone in the vault has to take the GOAT when they're sixteen, and that includes you. Now go." He's stern, but I can see him smiling. "Trust me, I wish we could train more too, but you need to do this. We'll do it later."

"Ok dad," I submit, happy to know we'll train later. Since my 13th birthday, he had been teaching me 'the ways of the ninja'. He said my mother descended from a great clan of the old world, and that she taught him everything she knew. The training mostly involved going to the hidden shooting range he showed me and sparring, but we also did a lot of sneaking around, going into restricted areas, pulling pranks on the other residents, and eavesdropping on them. It was fun, and I had learned so much. If it weren't for that, I wouldn't give in so easily when it came to taking the test.

I give my dad a hug, walking out of his office. As I turn the corner, I see Butch and his gang harassing Amata, like normal. I'd of thought they would've learned not to by now, but I just shrug. Amata notices me, and I make a signal not to alert them I'm there. Moving slowly, I wake my way towards them, making no noise. My father had helped me modify the vault suit to muffle the noise of my steps, and it had helped so many time before. The guys are so engulfed in bullying my friend that none of them see me coming. Coming up behind Butch, I make a quick, precise jab, hitting him just right to bring him to his knees, paralyzed. The others don't last long, Wally going down with a quick throat-punch and the other taking a kick to the nuts shortly after.

"Why don't you ever learn?" I ask, kneeling down infront of Butch. Bopping him in the head, I knock him over, and Amata giggles.

"Thanks," she says as I stand. We leave the gang to recover from their loss and head into the classroom. "Man, those idiots only treat me like that because of my father's the Overseer. Why can't they just leave me alone?" Amata groans as we sit down.

"It's like you said: they're idiots. Just don't let them get to you," I say to her, turning quickly as the teacher walks up.

"Are you two ready for the test?" he asks, clearly unaware of the scuffle that happened just outside his classroom.

"Yep, just waiting for it to start," I say, trying to stay polite.

"Good, because it starts now," he says, walking away as Butch and company walk into the room. All three give me dirty looks as they sit down. I just look over to Amata and smile.

The test goes by uneventfully, the class answering the ridiculous questions one by one. I try to answer as truthfully as possible, but it's pretty hard, as there aren't many answers I can really say I relate to. Luckily, the test is short, and soon we're done. I bring my test up to the teacher.

"Well Xian, looks like you're in luck," he says. "You've been selected to work as a cook." He smiles, and so do I.

"That's great! I was hoping for that!" I say with excitement. Truthfully, I really was. I've always been drawn to cooking, spending many of my days watching the current cooks work when I have free time.

"Well good. It's always nice to get what you want - not many do." Nodding, he signals that it's time for me to move along. I nod back, giving my thanks and quickly turning, my long black hair flowing behind me. I hadn't put it up yet, despite being down to my knees. As I'm reminded to do so, I make a point to grab a hairband from my room after telling my dad the good news. Suddenly, my mind goes back to the memory of the loud sound, and I find myself pondering it the rest of the day.

* * *

3 YEARS LATER

 _I look around, trying to find the source of the noise. The screeching fills my ears as I run through the darkness. Then I see it. I see a light in the distance. I run, trying to reach it, but the more I run, the farther it gets. I hear a yell, and come to a stop. I see Amata there, a bright light behind her. She's yelling my name_

" _Xian!"_

 _I hear it, but her voice is quiet. She yells again. This time, she's louder._

" _Xian! Wake up!" I look at her, confused._

" _What do you-"_

"What are you doing! Get up!" I hear Amata, opening my eyes.

"What is it?" I groan, slowly sitting up. I look to the side of my bed, seeing Amata standing by my bed. "Oh hey, I was just dreaming about you," I say, blinking the sleep from my eyes.

"Come on, you need to be serious!" She tells me in a frantic voice. As my eyes adjust to the light, I see the state she's in. Her normally nice blonde hair is a mess, her eyes are bloodshot, and she's covered in sweat. I immediately know something's wrong. Swinging my legs over the side of the bed, I stand. I take a moment to look over the rest of my friend. She's grown much taller than me, and she's grown much more beautiful over the years. I had hardly realized how attractive she had become until a year ago. But now she was different, worried, even scared. Recently, seeing her stressed out had begun to bother me in more ways than just worry for a friend.

"Amata, what's wrong? Why are you here?" I ask, placing a had on her shoulder.

"It's your dad, he's escaped the vault!" I pause, taking a moment to process what she said.

"What do-"

"He's gone. My father's going crazy. They- he- Jonas-" She has trouble saying what she wants, so I try to help her.

"What's going on. What do you mean, my dad's gone? What happened to Jonas?" I keep my hand on her shoulder, trying to comfort her. I give my best attempt at a comforting look, and it seems to work. She takes a deep breath.

"Your dad escaped the Vault. I don't know how, but Jonas helped him and now he's gone. My father- the Overseer learned what Jonas did and- my dad-" she stops again, and I begin to expect the worse. "Jonas is dead," she finally manages. I look in fear, tears forming in my eyes. Jonas was like an uncle to me. If what Amata said is true, then…

"Why are you here?" I suddenly ask. Amata's eyes meet mine, hers filled with fear.

"The Overseer thinks you were involved too. He's after you." I look into her eyes with horror. "I ran here to warn you. We have to do something. I can't just let you-" she breaks off into sobs, and I pull her into my arms. Normally, I would relish in the embrace, but now I had to be serious. As her sobs disperse, an Idea comes to me. I release the hug and look at her again.

"You said my dad escaped?"

"Yeah, just a little while ago."

"Than so can I," I put bluntly. I quickly move to my desk, taking the BB gun and my lucky knife I used as a cook. Amata watches me in shock.

"What do you mean?" she asks.

"Simple: my dad taught me everything he knew. If he can get out, so can I." I secure my knife in the sheath I made for it, and load the BB gun, electing to carry it with me. I see a light spark in my friend's eyes.

"That's perfect! If you can get out, you'll be safe." My idea seems to have revived her, bringing back the happy, go-getting girl I'd grown to have feelings for. "I'll go ahead of you, see if I can learn how he escaped." She begins to leave, but stops, turning quickly. She runs to me, gives a quick hug, and whispers into my ear. "Good luck," she says, then runs out of my room. I stand around for a moment, then snap out of it and head out after her. I keep low, listening for noises outside of the alarms blaring. I move slowly, remaining quiet and alert. As I reach a corner, I hear the sounds of a fight. Peeking around the corner, I see a guard being attacked by Radroaches. The huge bugs managed to find their way into the Vault every now and again, but they were weak and got taken care of fast. Naturally, I leap from cover and take a shot at the roaches, getting lucky and killing them with a single pellet. I'm staying low, and the guard slowly turns to see me, gun raised. His eyes go wide, then fill with rage.

"There you are!" he yells, readying his baton and charging. Surprised and caught off guard by the charge, I barely dodge the attack, still taking a sharp blow to the side. I wince at the pain, but have to move quick, as the guard presses the attack. He turns, his eyes filled with a blood rage as he makes a wide swing at me. This time, I get out of the way, but he doesn't quit, delivering a quick followup attack. By now, I can tell he's out for blood, and I get into a rhythm of dodging his wild attacks. Compared to my father's training, the guard's assault is nothing. But I know I don't have time to dodge. I take my chance when he makes another wide sweep with his baton, and move in. He can't react in time, and I hit him in his exposed neck with the butt of the BB gun. He drops like a rock, but he's not out. I take a second to remove his helmet, then bring the butt of the gun down on the back of his head. That leaves him unconscious. I take a deep breath, and gather myself after the experience. I make a point to remain undetected, as most of the guards will likely react similarly to seeing me. I quickly make sure the one who attacked me isn't dead, and hide his weapons in case he wakes up, then head off again.

I make slow progress through the Vaults winding corridors, trying to make it to the exit without another incident. As I pass by the bathrooms, I begin to hear loud footsteps, as if someone is running. Sure enough, I peek around the next corner and see my old nemesis Butch sprinting down the halls. Seeing his face filled with horror makes me jump from my cover, BB gun aimed at his face.

"Woah!" he shouts, skidding to a halt with his hands in the air. "Calm down, I'm not gonna hurt ya!" Butch's voice is frantic, but I can't quite trust him, not after all he's done to Amata and I growing up.

"How can I trust you?" I ask, not lowering the rifle.

"Please, you gotta help me!" he pleads. It's then that I realize that it's not sweat covering his face. He'd been crying. "It's the damn roaches, they've got my mom! Please, I'm sorry for what I've done, just please…" He looks at me, and I can tell he's not lying. I nod, lowering the gun.

"Show me the way," I say, and Butch doesn't hesitate, turning and sprinting towards his apartment. I've never liked him or his mom, but I can't just let her die. As we run, I sling the BB gun across my back, and draw my knife. I know how small the Vault apartments are, and I don't want to risk shooting the person I'm trying to save.

As we get closer, I hear the yells of a woman crying out in pain. Butch picks up speed, and I know it's his mom. The door is open, thankfully, but Butch stops just outside of it.

"What are you doing!" I ask, annoyed.

"I can't- I don't want to see what it's like in there." I scoff at the weakness he's showing, but I understand. I proceed into the apartment alone.

The first thing I notice, apart from the screams of Butch's mother and the roaches, is how the entire apartment is a mess. Furniture tossed about, whiskey bottles and trash lying around- I can finally see some of what made Butch who he is. Not wasting too much time, I rush into the bedroom where the screams are coming from. Inside is a horrific sight. The roaches have really torn up the woman. She's lying in a pool of her own blood, her jumpsuit ripped and her body scarred. I only hesitate for a moment before jumping into action. None of the roaches seem to have noticed me yet, and I use that to my advantage. Moving fast, I kick the roaches away from Ms. Deloria. It hurts my foot like crazy every time my foot connects with their hard shells, but I ignore the pain. Looking between the bugs, I see two of them landed on their backs, and are therefore defenseless. I go for them first, plunging my knife into the roaches exposed bellies. It takes a moment for each to stop squirming, but they die nonetheless. Distracted by finishing those two, I don't notice a third skittering to my ankle and taking a bite out of it. I yelp in pain, kicking it away. It falls on its back, and I put an end to it in the same fashion as the other two. The fourth and final roach had completely ignored me, returning to it's previous victim. It had a firm grip on Ms. Deloria's leg, and I again take advantage of the distraction. I reach down, gripping the roach by its shell and yanking it away. The woman screams in pain as a good chunk of her leg is ripped out along with the bug, but I ignore it, tossing the roach into the wall. Like its buddies, it fell on its back and I jammed my knife into it, ending the life of the last roach in the room. Breathing heavily, I slowly turn to Ms. Deloria. She, breathing quickly, tears streaming down her face. She turns to me, and through the tears and horror from what just happened, I see a look of gratitude in her eyes. I nod, realizing she can't speak right now. With that, I turn and leave the apartment, limping slightly from the bite on my ankle.

As I exit the Deloria's home, I am immediately confronted by a still worried Butch. He just looks at me, as if unable to speak.

"It's ok Butch, she's safe." I barely finish speaking before he leaps into a huge hug, crushing me in the embrace. I had never realized how strong he was, having never taken a direct hit from him before. My gasping for air is likely what convinced him to release me from his tight grip.

"Oh my God," he says, face beaming with excitement and thanks. I would go as far as to say I saw some regret in his eyes. "Thank you so much. I'm so sorry for what I've done in the past, to you and Amata. Oh man, I'm so sorry."

"It's OK Butch," I say softly, not really comfortable with this new Butch. I pause for a moment, then hear the alarms again, reminding me of just what I had been doing. "Look Butch, I've got to go. Everything's crazy right now, and I need to get moving. Remember to get some first-aid for your mother, fast." I look at him, and we nod in silent agreement to forget our past. After the exchange, he runs into his home, and I begin my journey through the Vault once more.

Things go smoothly for a little while after leaving Butch. I pass by the cafe, now filled with roaches, but decide not to take them on, as my ankle wound is still fresh and I can't waste much more time than I already have. As I make my way to the Atrium, I begin to hear sounds of fighting ahead of me. Slowing my pace, I try to listen and find out who's fighting. I can hear the noises I have come to realize are those made by Radroaches, as well as grunting from two familiar voices and what seems to be fire. I slowly peek around a corner, and see that my suspicions are correct.

Two good friends of my father, Officer Gomez and Stanley the engineer, are fending off a good amount of roaches. There are many bodies of the overgrown bugs strewn about in front of my father's office. The sounds of flames I heard are coming from Andy, the Mr. Handy who worked around the Vault. He was also a close friend of my father.

Andy had just finished frying a few roaches, and moved on to the last group, which Gomez had been fighting. The officer stepped back, letting the robot handle them. One of the bugs lept at Andy. I almost felt sorry for it as the robot's saw revved up in an instant. It was like my 10th birthday again, only instead of delicious cake covering the walls, it was the guts and blood of a disgusting bug. If the other roaches could feel for their dead ally, they didn't have time, as the flamethrower on Andy's other arm burnt them to a crisp seconds later.

After the battle is over, I carefully step out of my cover, Stanley and Officer Gomez unaware of my presence. I raise the rifle, ready to fire if needed. I'm happy the gun is non-lethal; I don't want to hurt anyone too bad.

I make my way forward quietly, hoping to get around the trio without being seen, but fate would not have it. I'm carefully stepping over the few radroach corpses which haven't been incinerated when Andy's eyes suddenly swivel towards me. I quickly point the rifle at the robot, but he doesn't move.

"Ms. Ling!" he calls out, his voice not hostile. He slowly begins to float towards me, and the two humans follow his gaze. I begin to step back as Gomez raises his hand.

"Whoa there missy," the guard says quickly. "Lower the rifle, will ya? We're not gonna hurt ya." As if to reinforce his words, Gomez, moving slowly, outs away his baton. Stanley, taking a hint, slips his wrench into his pocket. Still wary, I lower my BB gun, but keep a firm grip on it, ready to snap up at the first sign of trouble. With the gun lowered, Gomez begins to walk towards me. "Thank goodness it was me who found you," he says with a sigh of relief. "The others would probably attack on sight."

"Thanks," I say, relaxing. "And I know; I already ran into another guard a ways back." I point in the direction of my apartment.

"That's too bad," the officer said, a grim look on his face. "You didn't… is he-"

"I knocked him out," I interrupt.

"Good. But... " Gomez pauses, trying to think of what to say. "Lets just say the closer you get to the exit, the fiercer and more loyal the guards will get. I've already passed by a few carrying loaded guns."

"How do you know I'm headed to the exit?"

Stanley bumps in now. "Where else is there for you?" he asks. "Your father's gone and the Overseer's gone crazy, wants your head on a pike; all you can do is go up." He says it so bluntly, as if it's impossible for me to talk my way out.

"Look," Gomez starts, "you've got to get goin'. Stanley and I have managed to lock most of the doors on this floor, giving a clear path. But you can bet every guard between here and there is against you." He pauses, a small smile forming on his face. "Just stay low and out of sight; I know you're used to it." That makes me smile as well, remembering all the times Gomez caught me sneaking into areas I wasn't supposed to go.

"Don't worry, I'll be careful," I say, nodding. It's as if a silent understanding passes between everyone present, agreeing that the time for words is over. I pass by Officer Gomez, only taking a quick look at him, Stanley, and Andy before moving at a quick pace. I know I'll need to pick up the pace, my run in with Butch and now this slowing me down greatly.

Again, my journey goes by fast. I see a few guards armed with 10 mm pistols, so I avoid them as I progress through the Vault. Gomez wasn't kidding - the guards are ruthless. In my rush to escape, I see two people I don't recognize trying to escape. One of them, a guy about my age, tried to approach two officers, only to be gunned down. I look away quickly, doing my best not to think about what I just saw. It was just a glimpse, but seeing an innocent man gunned down like that had me sick to my stomach. Knife out now, I proceed through a door, only to be attacked by radroaches. With the guards who killed the guy in the room right behind me, I opt not to fight and risk being found, breaking into a sprint past the bugs.

Hugging the wall, I soon find myself in the computer server room for this floor of the Vault. As I enter, I again hear the sound of radroaches scratching across the floor. I see three, gathered around a body. I almost gag at the sight, the roaches having torn into the man's skin and reached his insides. I feel last night's dinner rising in my throat, but manage to fight the vomit. Not risking taking a breath, I move quickly and silently. As much as I hate it, the roaches eating the corpse keeps their attention from me, and I get by unseen.

I know I'm getting close now, and I speed up. Then I hear a scream. It's Amata. I can tell that right away. My pace grows faster, and soon I'm looking around a corner near the Overseer's apartment. I see a guard pacing, his helmet off and his back to me. Not wasting any time, I silently rush up behind him, covering his mouth with one hand while the other delivers a sharp blow to his neck. I feel him go limp, and I slowly lower the unconscious guard to the ground. I see the 10mm pistol on his side, and take it. I don't want him to wake too soon and have a clear shot at my head.

All throughout this, I can hear more yelling from the apartment. It's clear Amata is being interrogated. I hear a loud slap, and approach the window outside the room. Peaking in, I see one guard and the Overseer, their backs to me. I also see my friend, the Overseer's own daughter, in a chair, her face bruised and bloodied. I feel a measure of rage rise in me, only to quell. My father had always taught me to control my emotions. I take a deep breath, and look again at Amata. She lifts her face, and soon notices me at the window. Her eyes go wide, and I quickly move out of sight, next to the door. The pistol shakes in my hand. I can barely hear the Overseer's voice over the alarms and my own shaking.

"What is?" I hear him ask in a cruel voice.

"Nothing," is all Amata says in response, her voice quiet but strong. I can almost imagine the look in her father's face.

"Look outside," I hear the Overseer say, probably to the guard with him. He hadn't been wearing a helmet, and I hope that he doesn't put one on. I raise the 10mm, ready to whip him with it if the door opens.

Mere seconds later, though it feels like minutes, the door slides open. I see the guard start walking out, his helmet still off. He quickly sees his friend on the floor and reaches for his baton. As he turns to face me, I'm already bring the gun towards his head. His eyes grow wide for less than a second, then they're closing as the handle of the gun slams between them, KO'ing him instantly. I hear a yelp of surprise from Amata as his body falls to the ground. Taking a deep breath, I raise the pistol again, still shaking as I turn the corner and enter the room.

Amata is already standing when I enter, her father in front of her. The Overseer's eyes are wide for a second, as if in surprise, but his gaze soon fills with hate.

"Well well," he says, a small smirk forming on his face despite his eyes still burning with hatred. "Look who we have here. A little girl, trying to act tough." He pauses for a moment, as if trying to find the words to say. He finally speaks again after the long pause. "My biggest mistake."

I look at him, my whole body shaking as I point the gun at him. I am fully aware that what I'm holding will do more than just annoy him like the BB gun on my back. I can feel the tension in the air, the Overseer standing confidently, his gaze burning into my skull. If Amata feels it, she doesn't let it on, taking this moment to sprint past her father and me and out of the room.

"And then there were two," the Overseer says, unfazed by the gun. "What, are you afraid?" he asks. "Come on, I'm unarmed and you have a gun. You have the upper hand here. So, what's your move." He's not backing down. He takes a step forward and I take one back.

"Let me out," I say, my voice shaky.

"What?"

I take a deep breath, trying to calm myself. "Let me out of the Vault," I repeat, more confident.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Ling. That's just impossible." He takes another step forward, but this time I stand my ground.

"I… I don't want to hurt anyone," I say, my body calming as my mind does. "Just let me go, and you'll never see me again." Unfazed, the Overseer steps forward again.

"I can't do that Xian," he says as he gets closer.

"Why not?" I almost yell.

"Simple," he says, closing the distance more. "So many have already died." His voice goes quiet. "Because of you." He stops moving, letting the words sink in.

"You're the one who hurt them!" I do yell this time, defending myself.

"Did I?" He asks. "Isn't it your father who left? Isn't it his fault the Vault went into disarray? Aren't you his accomplice?" He asks the question, hate growing in each one.

"What do you mean? I never knew about him leaving!" I'm confused, but angered at the accusation.

"Of course you did! You think I didn't notice you two sneaking around all the time? You don't think I noticed you were up to something?" The Overseer's yelling now, voice filled with rage.

"I never knew anything!" I yell back, unable to suppress my anger.

"Yes you did!" His face starts to change, almost like worry is forming in him. "If you didn't, all this death has been for nothing!" Tears start falling from the Overseer's eyes. "If you're innocent, then I'm just a murder!" He yells, a battle cry rising as he begins to charge. I can't react in time, and before I know it, he's in my face and knocking the gun out of my hand. I'm impressed by his speed, given his age. But I don't have time to think, going on the defensive as he takes a wide, uncontrolled swing at me. I block the hit with my forearm, but his knee catches my stomach. I gasp as the air is knocked out of me and his fist meets my jaw. Stumbling back, I trip over the body of the guard in the doorway. The Overseer is on me in a second, sending vicious blows at my head. All I can do is raise my arms and block.

He pounds on my arms for a few seconds before taking a quick breath. I know this is my only chance, my arms not able to stand much more. A few of his blows had already gotten through my defense, and I can feel my cheeks swelling.

As he takes his breath, I give two quick jabs to his stomach, Stunning him for a moment. I take the chance and flip him, switching out positions. Still recovering, I take my knee and deal out a cheap shot to his nuts. I follow up with four hard hits to the face, and I can see the Overseer's strength fading. Whatever adrenaline he had was clearly gone, and he was breathing sharply. As much as I hated to do it, I knew I had to take advantage of my position. I moven my knee onto his stomach, making it harder for him to breath, and I pinned his arms.

"Tell me how to get out," I say sternly. He looks up at me, his previous hatred and stubbornness replaces with a look of submission. He tries to speak, so I release the pressure on his belly. He can still barely speak.

"M-My… pocket," he says with difficulty. "Code... my office… use terminal… never…" he coughs. "Never… come back." With that, he breathes deeply and releases, his eyes closing. I check his pulse, happy to see he's still alive. I stand up, and look to see Amata standing in the doorway of Jonas' office, one hand covering her mouth as the other held something tightly in its grasp. Tears are running down her face. It had to hard, watching her father and best friend go at eachother's throats. She's just looking down at his body, and I quickly move towards her. She looks up, fear in her eyes.

"Amata," I say, "he's fine." I see her eyes go wide. "He's just tired. He'll wake-" I can't finish talking as my friend tackle-hugs me, sobbing loudly.

"Thank you, thank you," is all she can say. I hold her tightly for almost a minute before we separate. Amata is much more composed by then, and can speak to me, though quietly. "Thank you for not killing him. Thank you so much." I can understand why she's happy. Her father was a horrible person, and a terrible father. He had just gotten done beating and interrogating her. But he was still her father. He had raised her. And I couldn't really blame him for the detachment; he was the Overseer and had to keep hundreds of Vault residents happy. Raising his daughter was important, but he never really had time.

"It's okay Amata," I say, smiling at her. She looks me in the eye and smiles back. Then she puts a hand on my head.

"You really should cut your hair," she says, catching me off guard/

"What?" I ask.

"I've been telling you for years to cut it, but you just keep it at your knees." Amata laughs a little.

"What's so funny? Why are you bringing this up?" I'm confused and a little embarrassed, standing like an idiot while she rubs my head.

"I don't know," she says with a giggle. "It kind of just came to mind. You look cute."

I blush and turn my head away to hide it, but that just achieves a bigger laugh from my friend.

"Anyway, I guess we should get going," she says. Passing by me, she kneels down and searches her father's pockets. A second later, she stands, a small piece of paper in hand. I again notice she hasn't let go of what's in the other hand.

"What's that?" I ask.

"The password. It'll get us to the door. Come on." Amata walks away, and enters her father's office. Looking back, she gestures to me. "Are you coming?" I jump a little and start forward, following her. By the time I enter the room, she's already at the terminal. I hear some clicking of keys, followed by a loud noise.

"What the-" I begin to say, but stop as I watch the desk rise. Amata walks to my side and we watch in awe as a hidden pathway reveals itself. We look at each other, and a simple nod is all that is needed to start down the stairs. I hear skittering and draw my knife. I barely see the radroach approaching in the dark. Moving fast, I kick it, flipping it on its back and finishing the bug quickly. Amata stares at me in amazement. I just smile and shrug, and we head off again.

Soon the dark tunnel opens into a large room. It's dark, and no guards are present. A lone terminal sits against a wall. Next to it, looming in the dark next to a lot of complex machinery, is my objective. The huge door that has stood between the vault and the surface for hundreds of years. Earlier today, my dad had opened it for the first time ever. Now, I was going to open it again. I look at Amata, and she gives a small nod before I move forward, toward the terminal. She walks by me, and in seconds we are in front of the final obstacle. I take a deep breath, and activate the terminal. It's as if time has reduced the terminal to nothingness. Like it has been devoid of all purpose for hundred years. The terminal seems to know exactly what I intend to do, as the mechanisms by the door jump to life in seconds.

That's when I hear it. First, I can't quite put my finger on it, but the whirring of gears and shifting of metal sounds all too familiar. Then I hear a click. All sound stops, only to be replaced seconds later by the loudest noise I've ever heard. A loud scraping noise, metal against metal. The recognition hits me like a nuclear blast: this was the noise. The very noise I had spent my life searching for, fantasizing about. The noise from my very first memory. I look at Amata, who's standing awestruck as the door slides slowly open. She looks over at me, speechless. But I can see in her eyes that she's thinking the same thoughts as me. I had told her about my memory before, described it many times.

I see a dim light pouring through the tunnel the door revealed. It lights our faces like never before. Amata looks beautiful in the light as we stare at eachother, then back to the door, then back to each other. The noise stops, and we stand in silence. Minutes pass before Amata breaks the silence, staring at me.

"Oh my god, you actually did it!" she says, almost with a disbelieving tone.

"Yeah, I- no, we did it," I say back in a similar tone.

"We?" Amata asks.

"Of course; I wouldn't have made it here without you." I look into her eyes, hoping she can understand how serious I'm being.

"I…" She can't seem to think of what to say. "You did most of it," she finally says with a small blush.

"Nope," I say bluntly. "If you hadn't woken me up, I wouldn't have even gotten out of my room." I'm smiling, trying not to laugh as Amata blushes a little. She looks like she's about to say something when I sense the presence of another in the room. I look past Amata to see Butch in the doorway.

"Butch!" I yell, and Amata turns around, quickly moving to hide me.

"Go away!" Amata yells at him. "You can't stop her!"

"I don't intend to," Butch says, walking forward with his usual swagger.

"What?" Amata asks, stunned. She looks back at me.

"It's fine," I assure her, walking past her and to Butch. I hadn't really noticed how much bigger he was than me earlier, but now it was obvious. Of course, everyone was taller than me; I topped out at five feet and three inches. Butch is almost a foot taller than me, as was Amata.

"Hey, I just wanted to thank you again for earlier," Butch says, holding out a fist. I pause for a second before bumping it with my own. He smirks.

"No problem," I say, backing away so I don't have to bend my neck so much..

"What's going on?" Amata asks, clearly confused at our friendliness.

"Let's just say we've put some stuff behind us," I say with a smile at her reaction.

"Yeah, it's…" Butch pauses, a hand scratching the back of his head, "I'm sorry 'Mata," he finally gets out, turning his gaze away. I see the look as shock on her face, and struggle not to laugh. "For everything," Butch adds. Amata just looks at him in awe.

"So, why else are you here?" I ask.

"Well, I felt I should see you off, and-" he's cut off by shouting at a door I hadn't noticed before. I can see sparks across the opening, letting me know it's time to move. "And to get your but moving," Butch finishes his previous thought.

"What's going on?" Amata asks.

"There are two experienced guards behind that door," Butch says. "I managed to lock it down before they got here, but you don't have much time. Go!" he yells, almost pushing me towards the exit. He looks back at me, an annoyed look on his face. "Move!" he yells, pointing at the door. I look at Amata, and don't waste a second, I pull her into a deep kiss on a whim, breaking apart only because I don't have time to waste. I look deep into her eyes as we part, and I make my way to the door. Her eyes follow me as I pass the Vault door and into the tunnel. I stare into her eyes, a look of sorrow and regret in my eyes. I can see Butch looking back at me.

"You take good care of her!" I yell the the leader of the Tunnel Snakes.

"You better come back someday! And bring the old man!" He yells back.

"Will do!" Tears are streaming as I activate the console on my side, starting the closing sequence. "Goodbye Amata! I'll see you again!" I call out to my best friend. She looks at me, tears streaming down her face. The loud noises start again, and the door begins to close. I see Amata's mouth move, but the closing door drowns out all sound. Not that it matters. My dad had taught me to read lips. As the Vault door slowly removes Amata from my sight, I felt tears rolling down my face. Seconds later, I hear the last noise from the door, and then there is silence. I place my hand on the door, and, quietly, just above a whisper, through sobs, I say the words Amata did.

"I love you too." With that, I steel myself, stifling my tears and wiping off my face. Slowly, I approach the broken wooden door at the end of the tunnel. Through the cracks, I see light pouring in, blinding light. I have to blink a few times before my eyes adjust. The tunnel is hot as well. Extremely hot. The only time I had experienced heat like this was when I was put in the back room of the kitchen, where all the cooking was done. It feels like hours have passed by the time I reach the door. I can't make much out through the cracks, so my only choice is to open it.

I pause for a minute, hand resting on the handle, and my other hand idly slips into my pocket. I notice something off, and realize something's in it. Grasping what feels like a small box, I take my hand out of my pocket and find a small holotape. I barely recognize it as what Amata had in her hand as we walked to the door. She must have slipped it in as I kissed her. I turn the small tape around to see a label with writing on it. "A note from Dad" is written in my father's handwriting. I look back at the closed Vault door once more, then plug the tape into my Pip-boy. As My father's message plays, I bring my hand back to the door, and, slowly, I push it open, not sure what to expect.

The door creaks open, and the light blinds me as I step out. My eyes adjust, and I take a look around. For miles, I see barren rock, no color in sight. I see the ruins of a small town just ahead. Everything finally sinks in. This is it. This is the surface.

This is the Wasteland.

* * *

 **And so ends the first chapter. I would like to thank all who read this to the end and encourage you to leave any comments, good or bad. Thanks again.**


	2. Chapter 2

The heat. It was the first thing I felt as my eyes adjusted. I had never felt such intense heat in my life. The way the sun's rays burn my skin, the dust subtly scraping my face as the warm wind blows. The Wasteland seemed to be everything the Overseer said. I haven't even taken a step, and sweat is forming on my brow, my jumpsuit damp from perspiration. I take a deep breath, and my lungs fill with hot air, burning the soft tissue inside, which was accustomed to the cool, clean air of the Vault. I gag as the scents hit me, eyes going blurry as I cough, only dragging in more of the foul air. I want to go back, but I know I can't, regaining my composure.

As I stand, looking across the Wasteland, exhaustion finally hits me. The adrenaline that ran through my veins from the moment I awoke leaves quickly, and I collapse, my face slamming into the rocky ground. I grunt as I try to push myself to my feet, but fail the simple task. My body will not move, my muscles suddenly tired and sore from over-exertion. As I try to stand, my feet find loose stone, and I begin to roll down the hill. My head smacks on a few rocks, cutting and bruising my face, a headache rapidly growing. My jumpsuit tears on some rocks, exposing parts of my body to the elements and opening more venues for the rocks get in and wreak havoc. Slowly, my body stops, and I am facing the sky, so vast and endless. The relentless sun sears my face. Slowly, my eyes begin to close. I try to fight, but ultimately, exhaustion wins, and I fall into a deep sleep.

* * *

When I wake up, unsure how much time has passed, I am still lying where I fell. The day has ended, and I am staring into the night sky. The blackness of night is almost welcome, until my nerves reawaken. First comes the pain of sore muscles, a feeling I am all too familiar with from Dad's training. Then comes the burning. It is very acute on my face, though I feel it on my hands, where the sun hit my palms. I try to curl my fingers, but the intense burn is too much. I lift them to find my hands scorched a bright, vibrant red. My face scrunches at the sight, and I feel the same pain across my entire face. I groan in pain as I sit up. A chilling wind blows my face, a short-lived sense of relief flooding over me. But the burn returns, and with it a new wave of pain coming from my side. My eyes wander down to see one large tear in my jumpsuit, accompanied by a sizeable gash, which scarred over in my sleep. Just a look at it tells me it's infected. With a groan of effort, reach into a small pocket on my leg, and pull out the loan stimpack I had stored there. I had forgotten it was there, and having it now seems like pure luck.

My palms burn as I tightly grip the syringe, but I bear through it, slowly inserting the needle into the gash. A small prick is all I feel, and I see a small amount of pus and blood seep out. My energy seems to double as i inject the contents into the wound, and my pain goes away. Dad explained how it worked once, but I can't remember exactly what he said. Honestly, as I stand up it doesn't matter. The actual wounds will take a little while to heal, but the pain relief is very welcome.

Taking a look at my PIP-Boy, I see that the night should almost be over. Looking around, I am standing on a road leading to the small ruins I saw at the top of the hill. It's a short walk away, just around a curve. With a sigh, I set off. The stimpack really helps, the medicine working it's numbing magic. I feel like I could walk for hours. I reach the small town, and my PIP-Boy pings. I look at it, and see a few notifications. The map marked this location, apparently holding data from before the nukes fell.

"Springvale," I say to myself. "At least I know where I am." The second notification is strange. It says that the "Enclave Radio Station" has been found. The vault had it's own radio station, and I listened to it while cooking, so I decided to check it out. Clicking a button on my PIP-Boy, music begins to play. I recognize it as old patriotic music. Dad kept a few holotapes in his room, and I'd listened to them.

The memories snap me back to my objective. I look at my "Tasks" tab on the wrist-computer, only to find it empty. I look for a moment, and the realization hits me.

"What do I do?" I ask myself. I left the vault so fast, I have no idea what to do or where to go. I suppress a small panic attack, knowing now is not the time to freak out. With a deep breath, I enter "Find Dad" into the tasks, and drop my hand to my side.

A look around confirms it: the town is ruined. The buildings are all destroyed, only a few supports standing. I resist the urge to look around them, unsure what to expect. I begin to walk forward when, on the road ahead, I see something strange. A small metallic ball floats toward me, and as it approaches, I begin to hear music. It is the same music that played on the radio station. It gets closer, and I can tell it's an eyebot. The little robot slowly passes me, it's music never stopping. Everything about it seems normal, until it gets right next to me. Just as it passes, I think I see it's single eye flick to me quickly, before floating off into the distance. As the eyebot passes, I sigh, and continue down the road.

I walk along the road the robot came from, and I can barely make out a rusty sign on the rocks. "Megaton" is painted on it, with an arrow pointing to the right. I pass an old gas station, and pass through the town. Following the path and up the hill, my jaw drops at the sight to my left.

Just ahead, I see a mass of rusty sheet metal, towering over the land. I can just barely make out a protectron standing near it, wearing a cowboy hat. I begin to walk along the road, towards the metal giant, when something else catches my eye. A few meters from the protectron, I see some humans. There are three, two carrying guns. They are next to a strange cow. I can only see the side, but it looks half starved, and it's bare skin is a disgusting orange-brown color. I watch it for a moment, and it begins to turn my direction. I almost vomit when I see the second head. I had heard that the radiation mutated creatures; I'd even seen radroaches and Molerats to prove it. But this, I was not expecting.

I take a deep breath, and begin to make my way to the people I saw. The thought of them being hostile doesn't even occur to me as I raise a hand in greeting.

"Hey!" I call out, and they turn to face me. The two armed ones, a scarred man and woman, reach for their guns, but the other, a man with long, messy hair stops them. He waves back. I'm walking up to him when I hear a scurrying behind me. Turning, I barely have time to dodge as I am rushed by a giant ant. It's fast, and I slip on some rocks, landing on my side. I roll down a hill for a moment before sliding to a stop. The ant is on me in an instance. It's legs slam down on my arms, pinning them, and it rears, mandibles chomping wildly. I try to kick it, but my feet just hit a rock-hard exoskeleton. The insect's eyes lower to me, it's jaws open wide. I close my eyes and turn away, ready to accept my fate, when I hear a gunshot, followed by pressure leaving my body. A few more shots and a terrifying screech, and then it's silent. I open my eyes once more.

Standing above me is the scarred man, a combat shotgun still smoking in his hands. To his side is the woman, her rifle firing one last shot before lowering it.

"You ok?" I hear, and look to see the man holding out his hand. Taking it up, he pulls me up. He towers over me, his shaded eyes only intimidating me more.

"What-"

"Man you're small," I hear a different voice cuts me off. Looking behind me, I see the man with long hair smirking.

"Excuse me?" I ask. I don't like people mocking my height.

"Sorry, where are my manners?" he says. "I'm Crazy Wolfgang, your friendly neighborhood junk dealer." He holds out his gloved hand, which I reluctantly shake.

"I'm Xian," I say to him, looking up at him. He smells, and it looks like he hasn't showered in weeks.

"Nice to meet you," Wolfgang says with a smile. "What can I do for you?" I stare at him for a moment, not sure what to say. Luckily, he saves me from his own question. "Say, is that a Vault jumpsuit?" he asks.

"Yeah," I say quietly.

"Now where did you get that? There some hole in the ground I don't know about, just waiting to be searched?"

"No," I say. "At least, not as far as I know. This is mine; I've had it for years." Now Wolfgang stares at me.

"You're kidding," he says. I just shake my head, and his mouth drops. "You're really from a Vault?"

"Yeah, 101, just down the road."

"No way, that's impossible. I've never heard of that Vault opening. I just thought all of you died."

"Nope," I say. Somberly, I add, "But I wouldn't get your hopes up. It's not opening again for a while." I look down, and a hand slips into my pocket, where I still have my dad's note.

"Dang," Wolfgang sighs. "That's a bummer. Well, it sounds like you haven't been out for long." He looks me over, and continues. "But you look like hell." If my face could get any redder, it would. But the sunburn beat out everything.

"Yeah, it's been rough."

"Well, at least you're alive. Most don't last a few minutes."

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"Most Vault dwellers. If they didn't kill each other inside, they take a few steps and get ripped apart by something or someone."

"Someone?" I'm beginning to wish I'd taken my chances in 101.

"Yeah. No law and deadly creatures around every corner messes with the mind. We call 'em raiders, and you better hope you never run into one. Fresh little girls like you are prime targets for their type." I'm shaking by now, not sure what he means by that, but I don't want to know.

"Come on Wolf, don't scare the girl," a deep voice says behind me. It's the tall scarred man with the shotgun. "Look, most raiders are too busy shoutin' or dyin' from Jet withdrawal to be a threat. Most can't even hold their guns, let alone shoot them. It's the creatures, like that ant, that you need to watch out for. By the way, I'm Jax." We shake hands, and he turns his attention back to the two-headed cow.

"Yeah, well you should still watch out for them." Wolfgang says. "Anyway, enough about that; what are you doing here?" His face had been serious, but now he had his old smirk back.

"I'm… looking for my dad," I say. "He left 101 a little while before me, so I don't think he's too far off."

"You're old man's missing, huh. Well, I wish I could help, but my caravan just got here."

"Oh," I say, a little disappointed. He seems to notice, and tries to help a little.

"You could try talking to Simms," he says. "He's the Sheriff here, so he'd be the best person to ask. If he can't help, I'm sure he knows someone who can help." Wolfgang gives me a toothy smile, and I see that his teeth are in as bad of shape as the rest of him.

"Thanks," I say, "I'll look for him." We shake hands again, and I begin to walk to the protectron, when I hear Wolfgang call out to me again.

"Hey Xian! What's that on your back?" He asks. I turn, and my hand reaches to my back, feeling the BB-gun.

"It's a BB-gun," I tell him, taking the strap off and handing it to him. "My dad gave it to my for my tenth birthday."

"Really? Man, what I wouldn't give to have this thing," he said, looking it over. "You want to keep it?" he asked me, looking over. It was a difficult choice. The gun had brought me some fun times and good memories, but it wasn't practical. The ant proved that. My mind wanders to a lesson my father taught me.

"If something is stopping you from moving forward, get rid of it, no matter the personal worth. It's not worth wasting your life," he had told me. With a sigh, I answer Wolfgang.

"I don't think so. You can have it," I say.

"Seriously?" he asks. I nod in confirmation, and he holds the gun high. "Thanks girl, you just made some kid in the wasteland very happy. And you," he turns and reaches into a pouch on the two-headed cow's side. When he turns back around, his hand is around a small pouch. "...just got a little richer," he finishes his thought as he shoves the pouch in my hands. I open it up.

"Bottle caps?" I ask.

"Yep, Nuka-Cola caps, to be specific. They're the currency up here." I look at him, doubtful. "No, I'm serious!" he says. Sighing, he continues. "Look, just ask anyone in town, they'll tell you. Most of them have at least a few on them at all times."

"Ok, I'll trust you," I say, and put the pouch in a pocket. "Are you planning to stick around for a while?" I ask.

"I'll hang around out here for a while, hope someone else stops by. My Brahmin'll need a drink later though, so I might see you later. You heading inside now?"

"Yeah, I think I should," I tell him.

"Alright, just walk past the Protectron, and the gate'll open for you. Good luck," he says, and turns back to his Brahmin. At least, I think that's what he called the two headed cow. With a shrug, I do as he says, and walks to the gate. Slowly, the mass of metal shifts away, revealing a door. The friendly hat-wearing Protectron gives me a 'Howdy Partner' as I pass, and I simply nod to him before proceeding into the town.

* * *

 **I have no words. None, at least, which can explain or validate my failure to update this for so long. This chapter was cut short so I may say I am sorry. If one word could sum up the mass of reasons why, it could only be one thing: Life. It hit hard, and it took a while to recover. I promise that I shall be more vigilant in the future, and attempt to have another chapter up soon. Again, I apologize for the wait and the sad length (and quality) of this chapter.**


	3. Chapter 3

_**I DO NOT OWN FALLOUT.**_

When I entered the town, I was surprised, to say the least. The gates opened to a large crater. Buildings and walkways were built out of the same rusty metal as the outside walls, and looked about ready to fall apart. There were few noticeable landmarks from what I could directly see, and more than a few leaky pipes around, spraying water everywhere.

The first rays of dawn shined through the city walls, and with it, a few people begin move about. Most of them look pretty average, with dirty clothes, messy hair, and more than a few scars per person. I don't see anyone out of the ordinary until I look down the hill and hear someone speaking.

"Well I'll be damned. Another newcomer," a deep, smooth voice says. In the shade of the buildings, I barely see a man approaching me, looking like a cowboy from the old comics. He has dark skin, and a shaggy black beard. "Names Lucas Simms, town sheriff. And mayor too, when the need arises." He walks right up to me, towering over me, and holds out a large hand. I timidly, reach up and shake it.

"Hi," I say quietly, his large size and the rifle on his back intimidating me.

"It's rare to see a little girl wanderin' alone 'round here," he says with a smile. "Did you just get kicked out of Little Lamplight? I stare at him, and, in the silence, he takes a moment to look me over.

"Little Lamplight?" I ask, confused.

"I'll take that as a no. So, where are you from?" I'm hesitant to answer truthfully, but nothing about Sheriff Simms makes me find him untrustworthy. I sigh, realizing I'm going to be answering this question a lot.

"I'm from Vault 101," I tell him. "I guess you could say I got kicked out, though, so you got that part right." The Sheriff chuckled a bit.

"Well, you're always welcome here. Welcome to Megaton. Now, what's your name, little girl?"

"It's Xian." I look down, and my voice gets quieter as I continue. "And I'm 18."

"Oh, sorry missy. You're just a little small. What brings you to our little town, Xian?"

"I'm looking for my father. This was just the first place I found. The Caravaneer outside told me you might be able to help me." I'm a little hopeful; if the Sheriff has seen my father, searching may not be that difficult.

"Sorry, I'm not sure I can help you," he says, killing my hope. "It's just that there's a lot of folks coming in and out from day to day, and I can't take time to greet all of 'em. Might want to check with Moriarty, up in the saloon. If anyone's seen your old man, it'll be him. Noone comes through town without stopping by his bar for a drink." My hope returns a little, and I smile.

"So this Moriarty can help me?"

"If anyone can, it'll be him." Simms looks at me, a small smirk stretching across his face. "Just follow the signs; it shouldn't be too hard to find."

"Thank you, Sheriff," I say, eager to continue my search. I shake his hand again, and move past him.

"Oh, one more thing," Simms says before I get by him. "I know the bomb looks dangerous, but it's a dud. Darn things just taking up space. Just don't get too close to it, or you'll get accosted by those Children of Adam." With that, he walks up to the gates, and passes through them. I look to where he went for a moment, then, with caution, begin to walk down the hill.

The sun rose a little as we talked, and now more people were out. Most just seem to wander the streets, though some carry things with them, likely to trade with Wolfgang. Almost everyone has a gun, knife, or other object to use as a weapon. I feel rather under-equipped, the knife at my side dulled from cutting down roaches in the Vault.

I'm about halfway down the hill when I see what Simms was talking about. At the center of town sits an old atomic bomb. It's completely intact, and sitting in the middle of a small pool of water. People surround the bomb, some in the water, and others who just seem to be avoiding the weapon of mass destruction. My eyes drift upward, away from the bomb, and I see a large sign behind it, up on the metal walkways. "Moriarty's Saloon" is written on it, and with a smile, I make my way to it, avoiding the bomb as best I can.

I reach the point I need to walk on the metal, and I hesitate. I place a foot on it lightly, applying pressure slowly. The metal creaks and bends a little, but once I'm confident it won't break under my weight, I walk up the makeshift ramp. Slowly progressing, the hot sun bears down on me.

I finally reach the saloon. The smell of liquor is heavy, seeping through the holes in the walls. Light laughs and slurred speech can be heard. The door creaks loudly as I push it open, and the noises get louder. Walking in, I'm not really surprised by what I see. A few tables are spread about, people sitting on rusty benches and drinking their problems away. I walk up to the bar; my head barely clears the top, so I hop onto a stool. I don't see the bartender anywhere.

"Hey there," a silky smooth voice says from my right. I look to it's owner, and see a beautiful woman. She's leaning on the bar, a drink in her hand. The woman is dressed rather provocatively, and looking at me with a seductive glance. "Not every day we see a pretty little thing like you walk in here," she says with a thin smile. Look away to try and hide my blushing.

"H-Hello," I respond quietly. I'm not looking at her, but I can feel her inching closer, her gaze on me like a wild beast hunting its next meal.

"Awww," she says with a slight purr. "You're embarrassed; that's so cute!" I feel her right next to me, and she whispers directly into my ear. "What can Nova do for you?"

My eyes are wide, and I'm completely stiff. I don't know who this woman is, but it's clear she's coming on to me. I'm trying to think of a response, distracted by her hand lightly running up and down my thigh. My heart feels like it's going to beat out of my chest, when a raspy voice saves me.

"Leave the girl alone, Nova. She's just a kid." I look around trying to find the source of the voice.

"Sorry Gob, I couldn't help it." Nova put a hand on my head. "She just looks so innocent." I hear some rattling, and from a door behind the bar, I see someone enter the room. I see his legs, first, and slowly my gaze travels up. What I see shocks me. The man, if he could even be called that, looked like he had been mauled, poorly treated, and then mauled again. The little skin on his face was distorted and deformed, colored abnormally. THe hair on his head was ragged and sparse. I almost gagged when I saw him, looking away.

"What, never seen a Ghoul before?" the raspy voice asked. I slowly look again, struggling to make eye-contact.

"A Ghoul?" I ask.

"Yeah, a Ghoul. You saying you've never even heard of us?"

"I… no. I'm kind of new to this place." The 'Ghoul' Gob shook his head.

"What are they teaching kids these days," he said with a sigh. "I'm a Ghoul. Basically, I was exposed to too much radiation. But for some reason, I didn't die. Instead, it made me look like this." I look at him in disbelief.

"Are there more like you?" I ask.

"Yeah, quite a few actually. Most people who didn't get into a Vault died. Those who were lucky, at least. Some like myself weren't so lucky."

"You mean you were alive before the bombs fell?" I couldn't believe it. I had always been told that everyone on the surface died when the bombs fell. Not to mention it had been hundreds of years since then. There was no way Gob could be from then.

"Yep. But enough of that. What are you doing here, little girl? This place is a little too…" the Ghoul paused, his eyes trailing to Nova before continuing. "... mature for you."

"I'm 18," I say, frustrated.

"Yeah, sure, and I'm a smoothskin." I give him an angry look, and he sighs. "Fine, what do you need?"

"I'm looking for someone. I was told Moriarty could help me out." When I mention the man's name, Gob stiffens. His eyes shift to Nova, who lightly shakes her head.

"Sorry smoothskin, can't help you. The boss is busy."

"Please, I need his help. He's the only one who can help me," I plead. Gob looks back to Nova, who, with a sigh, gives a small nod. The Ghoul sighs.

"Fine, but be careful. He's likely to con you for everything you've got. You can find him through there," he says, pointing to the door he came from. I nod.

"Thank you," I say, getting off the stool.

"Don't," he responds, stirring some doubt in me. With one last look at the Ghoul, shaking his head as he wipes a stain on the bar, I walk around, and into the room he mentioned.

The room I walk into is rather plain, a few shelves and lockers leaning against the wall, and a single terminal to the left. An older man sits in front of the monitor, his face glowing with the green-blue light of the screen. He doesn't seem to notice me, just staring at the terminal, smelling of alcohol.

"Hello?" I say, and I see the man flinch a little. "I'm looking for Moriarty." THe man stands and turns to me, turning off the screen. After sizing me up, he smiles a little.

"Colin Moriarty, at your service!" he says, a light accent in his words. "Welcome to Moriarty's! My saloon, my home, my slice of heaven in this backwoods little burg."

"Hello, Mr. Moriarty," I say, shaking his hand. "I'm Xian. I was told you could help me find my dad. He's about your age, I would guess, a little shorter than you. He would have been wearing a suit like mine." When I say my name, his eyes go wide, and they just keep going as I talk. His mouth is agape when I finished.

"My God…" he breaths. "It's you. The little baby girl, all grown up. It's been a long time." I'm about to ask him what he means, when he continues.

"Oh, your daddy passed through here, all right. Got what he came for and left. I guess you'll do the same?"

"What do you mean?" I ask. "We've never left the Vault, let alone met you." Moriarty scoffs.

"Is that what your father told you? That you were born in that hole? That HE was born there too?" He chuckles. "Oh, the lies we tell to those we love."

"I don't… what…" I can't speak; the things he says are struggling to process.

"Your father brought you to the Vault right after you were born. To keep you safe, you see. I remember it well; you stayed in MY saloon after all." He seemed to be enjoying turning my life, all of my memories, upside-down, and didn't stop. "That's right. Your father, his Brotherhood of Steel friend, and you, the suckiling babe with nary a tit to suckle. Sorry about your mom. Truly." His tone grew somber. "That's right, Daddy lied. Life's full of little disappointments. And now… you're all grown up, and wondering where he's off to."

"But, my father would never lie to me…" I say quietly. "We were both born in the Vault." I say it, but I know it's not true. Moriarty didn't give me any reason to doubt him, his tone sure and genuine. He reminded me of my father, back when he would tell me about my mother. I remember what the Overseer called me. ' _My biggest mistake.'_

"Ahh, I see. I've heard about the brainwashing that goes on down there. From some other fella, escaped, oh… five years back." He throws his hands up. "'All hail the Overseer! We're born in the Vault, we die in the Vault!' All that lunacy." He looks me up and down again. "Kid, you better wise up soon. Don't want anyone… taking advantage of you, now, do we?" I look up at him, staring straight into his eyes. His mouth is curved in a sly smile, a face I don't trust. I can tell he wants something out of it.

"What do you want?" I ask bluntly.

"What?" he responds, clearly caught off guard.

"What do I need to give you for you to tell me where he is?" Moriarty's smirk curved into an impressed smile.

"Maybe you're sharper than you look. Ok then, I'll tell you where your daddy went."

"But…" I ask, trailing off.

"But it'll cost you. 100 caps, and your daddy's location is your's." He holds out his hand, as if expecting me to just have it. Then I remember the pouch Wolfgang gave me. Reaching into my pocket, I pull it out and hand it to him.

"Is this enough?" I ask. Moriarty takes a minute to count them, walking to a nearby desk and sitting at it.

"Well, you're in luck kid. 100 caps, exactly. Your dad raised a smart kid; most try to talk it down a bit, but you seem to know better. Speaking of which, he went southeast, into D.C. to the Galaxy News Radio Station. Good luck getting there."

"Could you show me where it is?" I ask him.

"Right, you've never been out here before." He stands once more. He points to my PIP-Boy. "Just enter these coordinates into that." He reads them off, then walks out of the room without another word. Doing what he says, I see a marker appear on my map, as well as the quickest route. With that done, I walk out.

"Hey smoothskin," I hear from my left. I jump, turning to see Gob standing next to the door. "So you're going to D.C.?"

"I guess so. Is there any advice you can give me?" The Ghoul chuckles, a weird sound that sounds more like choking coming from him.

"Yeah, don't die." He walks to the bar, and I walk around, and sit at it like before. "But honestly, the best I can give you is to stop by Moira's, trade out some of that crap you're carrying. You can't miss her shop, Craterside Supply.." He grabs a towel, and begins wiping down the bar again.

"Thanks Gob," I say, stepping off of the stool I'm on.

"One more thing," he says before I turn to leave. "Watch your back out there. Most people won't be as kind as the folks here. And watch out for other Ghouls. Most have gone Feral, attack anything that moves. Good luck." I nod at him, and turn to leave.

Stepping back into the heat, I look around. Sure enough, I see the place Gob told me about not far from where I am. A short walk brings me to Moira's front door. With a little hesitation, I enter.

I walk into another rather simple room. A counter to the right, with a few shelves spread throughout the place. A few open doors lead to other parts of the building, a man with an assault rifle leaning on the wall next to one. I'm looking at him when I hear an unusually high, chipper voice come from behind the counter.

"Hey, you're that stray from the Vault! I haven't seen one of you in years!" I turn to see the speaker. Standing behind the counter, dressed in a dirty grey jumpsuit, is a young woman, her dirty hair pulled back in a loose, wild bun.

"Hi there," I say. "I'm Xian."

"Good to meet you! I'm Moira Brown. I run Craterside Supply." She smiles, and wipes a bit of grease off her face.

"Nice to meet you, Moira. I was told you could help supply me for a trip."

"Oh, sure! Follow me," she says, quickly moving around the counter and grabbing my hand. She leads me past the guard, and into a separate room. When we're there, she lets go of me and begins searching the various footlockers and cabinets. While, she looks, she talks to me.

"Say, I've been working on a book about the Wasteland. It'd be great to have the foreward by a Vault Dweller. Help me out, would you?" She rummages around some more, pulling various things out before throwing it all back in.

"I guess so," I say. "What do you want me to do?"

"Great! Just tell me about living underground, or coming outside for the first time, or just whatever strikes your fancy." I think for a moment, before a simple answer comes to me.

"It's really hot," I say. Moira stops searching for a moment, because she starts laughing.

"Please," she says through giggles, "elaborate."

"Well, the Vault was air-conditioned. We kept my floor at a cool 60 degrees all the time."

"Wow, that's great!" Moira says, standing and grabbing a notebook. She writes something down, then looks at me. "Thanks, that'll be fine. Say, do you want to help with my research? I'll pay you." She stares at me with wide, begging eyes. I sigh; I've never been able to resist puppy eyes from any girl.

"Sure," I say. "I'll see what I can do, once I find my father." Moira gets a wide, gleeful smile, and runs up to me, hugging me. She's a lot stronger than she looks.

"Oh, thank you so much! You have no idea how hard it is to find people to help me out!" She lets go, and backs away. "So, you said you're looking for your dad? Do you know where he is?"

"Yeah, I heard he was heading to the D.C. area." Her smile dims a little.

"Oh," she says. "Well, you're going to need some supplies."

"That's why I'm here. Gob at the bar told me you could help with that."

"Well, he wasn't lying. And, seeing as you're helping me, I'll get you started. First, you're going to need some armor." She walks to a locker, and opens it.

"Armor?" I ask.

"For protection. If you're going to D.C., you're going to need all the armor you can get." She pulls something out of the locker, and turns back to me. It's a Vault suit, with what looks like some leather padding on the outside.

"Where did you get that?"

"The last person to come from the Vault left it here. Now, I don't think this'll fit you, but I can take the armor off of this and put it on your's. I'll just need your suit for about an hour." I'm still confused by what she said before.

"The last person? You mean, you've seen other people from 101?"

"Yeah, there's a few who come by every year or so. You're just the latest. Didn't you know?"

"No, I was told the Vault never opened." No I couldn't deny what Moriarty said. If more people had seen others from the Vault, there was no way he had lied.

"Well, if no one ever left, how did you get out?" She asks, a smirk on her face.

"That's… It's different for me. I had to leave." My voice is quiet, and a little sad.

"Oh, ok," Moira responds. I guess she understands that I don't want to talk about it, because she changes the subject. "So, about the armor…"

"Yeah, right. So, if you take my suit, what will I wear?" She thinks for a moment, then runs to a foot-locker, grabs something from it, and returns to me.

"Here," she says, handing me a box. I look inside, and I see some simple clothes. A plain white tee, some black leggings, and a pair of shorts a little short for my liking sit inside. They look to be my size, if a little small. "Sorry if it's a tight fit. I don't get many people your size coming through here."

"It's fine, thanks," I say, taking the clothes out of the box. I look around. "Is there anywhere I can change?" I ask. Moira laughs a little.

"Don't worry, you can change here. I won't look, and the guard won't let anyone in here unless I'm with them." With that, she moves to the door, almost standing guard. I stand still for a moment, before deciding to just get it over with.

I take all of my things out of the pockets and set them on the ground, then slowly peel off my jumpsuit, the fabric drenched in sweat and badly torn. It feels good to take it off, letting my skin breathe for a moment. I still have my usual undershirt and shorts on, and thankfully they didn't get ripped. I look back to make sure Moira isn't looking, and strip them off. As much as I would like to keep them on, the sweat covering them was unbearable. Quickly, I slip on the clothes. The material of the leggings feels good on my skin, the shorts helping me avoid the shame I would feel without them. The shirt is soft and clean, as if it has never been worn. It's tighter than my vault suit, which I kept a little loose for breathing room, and hugs my body closely. The only problem I have with it is that it doesn't cover my midriff, so there's a mildly shameful bit of skin showing. Overall, the outfit is very comfortable, but a little more revealing than what I'm used to. I run a hand through my hair, pleased to find that, other than a few tangles here and there, it still has its regular silky feel to it. I turn back to Moira, still standing at the door facing away from me.

"Ok, I'm done," I say, and she turns back around. Sme smiles when she sees me.

"Perfect! Though the shit is a little small. That's fine though. You can set the rest of your gear on this table," she says, pointing to a nearby table. I pick up my things and do as she said.

"What next?" I ask her, as my stomach growls. I realize that I'm extremely hunger. It's been awhile since I ate, and I only just realized it.

"I think you need something to eat," Moira says,and tosses me a pouch she had in her pocket. "You go fill up; I'll have this suit fixed up soon."

"Thank you," I say, and she nods her head. She shows me out, and sends me back into the heat.

"You'll find some food down in the crater. Just look for Jenny Stahl." I thank her again, and make my way down. The bomb makes me uncomfortable as I pass it by me. I quickly find the food stand, and use the caps I was given to buy some noodles. They taste terrible, but I still thank the woman and eat it all. My hunger dealt with, I'm about to head back to Moira when I see the Sheriff. He waves at me as he walks up.

"Hey there, little lady," he says. "How's our fine town treating you?"

"Very well, actually. Though, I'm not sure how much longer I'll be staying."

"Find where your father went, did you? That's good. Just remember that you always have a place here."

"Of course, thank you Sheriff." My eyes drift to the bomb. "Has anyone tried to disarm that?" I ask.

"What, the bomb? Hell no, no one's dumb enough to try that. It may've been a dud when it fell, but one wrong move and all of Megaton is dust. Why do you ask?" He looks at me suspiciously.

"I was just wondering. I actually know quite a bit about technology. My father made sure to teach me the all about this kind of thing."

"Are you saying you'd like to take a crack at disarming that thing?"

"Only if you're comfortable," I say. I was honestly only curious, but if he would let me, I'm sure I could do it.

"If you're sure you can do it, go right ahead. Just don't screw up and kill us all."

"I'm sure I can do it. When I have the time, that is."

"Alright then. Well, hopefully I'll see you later."

"You too," I say as he walks off. I take a moment to add 'Disarm the bomb' to my list of tasks on my PIP-Boy. After that, I head back up to Moira's shop, to check on my new armor.

I walk in just as Moira comes out of her storage room. She doesn't notice me, and almost plows over me.

"Oh, sorry!" she apologizes. "I was just coming to look for you."

"I'm fine. Did you get it done?" She smiles.

"Yep, just finished up." She leads me into the room we were earlier, and sure enough, on the table with the rest of my gear, is my suit. It looked like she had cleaned and mended it, in addition to the leather padding. "Here it is." She grabs the suit, and hands it to me. "I fixed up the suit itself, added a few pockets for extra storage then put on the armor. I used all the materials from the other suit, so there was a little excess when I fitted it to you. I figure you might want the scraps, in case you need to fix it on the go. You'll notice I added a belt with several pouches for ammo, and a holster for your pistol." She grabs the gun I was given, and hands it to me as well. "I also took the liberty of fixing this up, and adding some modifications. It should be more stable and pack a harder punch than ever."

"I-Thank you. This is a lot more than I was expecting."

"Oh, it's really nothing. Business has been slow lately. Besides, I don't want you dying before you help me with the book!" I laugh nervously. Everyone's been talking like survival is difficult up here. Every moment, I wish more and more that my father hadn't left. "You can keep the clothes, by the way," gesturing to my current outfit. "Now, you'd better get that on. If you hurry, you could make some good progress before the sun goes down." Moira quickly turns and guards the door like before.

Putting on the suit, I can feel the weight difference. Despite that, it's actually rather comfortable. The armor doesn't restrict movement, and it feels strong enough to stop a bullet. I also notice that she reinforced the suit itself. I put the gun in the holster, and search my pockets. I find one with a few stimpacks, and another holding a few held clips for the gun. I find the extra leather she mentioned, along with a few things to assist in repairs. All in all, the armor may have made it heavier and undoubtedly less suited for stealth, but offered much greater protection. I would have to make it up to Moira by working hard on her book.

"This feels great!" I say, turning to her. She smiles, and nods.

"Just remember your promise. Now, there's just a few more things I have for you." Moira reaches into her pocket, and reveals a small pouch. "First, some caps, to pay for food, or whatever you need." She hands me the caps. "Finally," she says, quickly wrapping her arms around me. "A hug." she whispers in my ear. "I hope you find your dad, and get back safe." Moira backs off, and smiles. I'm still pretty flustered from the sudden show of affection, and it takes a moment to put myself back together.

"I- Um- Thank you," I say quickly, when words begin to come to me.

"No problem! I could tell you needed one, from the moment you walked in. Now get going!" She leads me back to the entrance, and sees me out. I make my way down to the crater, and then up the hill to the front gate. I wish I saw the Sheriff on my way up, but he was nowhere to be seen. I passed through the gates, and back into the wasteland.

"Hey there!" I hear from ahead of me. I see Crazy Wolfgang waving from next to his brahmin. Jax, the guard, is standing off to the side, his eyes locked on the eastern horizon.

"Hi, Wolfgang," I say as I approach him. I notice the brahmin's packs have gotten smaller. "Did you do good today?" I ask.

"Oh yeah, there's been plenty of business. Folks are coming left and right to check out my stock. It may be junk to some, but to others, I have exactly what they're looking for." He stretches, and continues. "Speaking of which, did you find what you need?"

"Actually, I did." I smile a little, happy that I at least know where to look. "I was told to check in D.C., at the Galaxy News Radio Station." The merchant's eyes grow wide.

"You're heading to D.C.?" He asks, slight terror in his voice. "Alone?" His reaction scares me a little.

"Yeah," I say slowly. "Is that an issue?" There's a hint of uncertainty in my voice.

"It's just… well…" Before Wolfgang can finish, Jax steps in.

"That's suicide," he puts bluntly. "Just getting in is difficult, even for seasoned mercs like me. Most go in groups. Between the Talons, ferals, and raiders, you've got a hard road ahead. That is, unless you've got some secret up your sleeve."

"Jax!" Wolfgang shouts, looking sharply at his guard.

"What, she needs to hear it. You want her to die, charging in there alone?" The caravaneer looks at him, as if trying to find a way to defend his outburst. Jax didn't let him. "Do you want this girl to be mauled by ferals? Butchered by Mutants? Do you want her to fall into the hands of some raiders?" Wolfgang looked downtrodden. I was terrified.

"M-Mauled?" I ask, words catching in my throat. Both of the men look at me. Wolfgang's face softens, but his eyes quickly go wide. He looks at Jax, and the merc seems to understand. He nods, and the trader turns back to me.

"Say," he says, stretching, "what if you travelled with us?" I stare for a moment, unsure what to say. Eventually, I find my words.

"You mean, you'll take me?"

"As far as we can," Wolfgang tells me. "Mind you, we can't get you all the way, but it'll be a start. Better than you trying to get there alone." My eyes light up.

"Thank you!" I exclaim. "How far can you take me?" He thinks for a moment.

"I'd say we can take you as far as Farragut West Metro Station. It's just past the Super Duper Mart."

"That's fine, I think," I look to Jax, who just lightly shakes his head.

"Farragut isn't in D.C. There'll likely be some ghouls roaming in the station itself, but nothing too difficult. It's better than nothing," the merc tells me. "If you go in there, the path to D.C. shouldn't be too difficult; just follow the signs."

"You sound like you've been through there," I say. His face grows dark. He turns from me, and shakes his head.

"Only once. And I was leaving D.C., not entering." Clearly, he didn't want to talk about it, so I leave it at that, and turn back to Wolfgang.

"So, when do we leave?" I ask.

"We can leave any time. Jax and I were just about to leave, anyway."

"We should get going now," Jax interjects, looking to the sky. I follow his eyes, only to look back down when the sun almost blinds me. "The sun'll be setting soon, and I'd like to make some progress before night hits."

"Yeah, good point. That fine with you?" Wolfgang asks me.

"Sure. I was planning on leaving soon myself, anyway."

"Good. I lead the brahmin, you two just make sure nothing kills us, ok?" Wolfgang tells me. Jax just nods, and quickly begins checking his guns.

"Sure," I say, unholstering my pistol. My hand shakes as I hold it. I know things are different up here, but I've never killed anyone before. I've killed radroaches, and beaten up Butch more times than I can count, but never killed another human. As I'm pondering this, a hand rests on my shoulder. I jump, letting out a little screech and turning. Behind me is Jax, a thin smile on his face.

"Look," he says in a surprisingly soft voice, "I'm not gonna lie to you; things are bad up here. But you can't let that get to you. The number one cause of death in the wasteland is losing hope. If you keep your spirits up, not even a Behemoth can bring you down." He looks over at his employer and, and continues. "Besides, you've already got a few friends looking out for you. We may not be able to take you all the way, but at least you've got some company at the start. That's more than most can say." He walks past me, to the brahmin, and searches a pack. When he returns, he's holding something wrapped in cloth, and hands it to me.

"What-" I begin to say, but he cuts me off.

"If you're going into D.C., you're gonna need more than a knife and a pistol. Consider it a little insurance." I look at him, then unwrap the object. Dropping the cloth, I realize it's a blade of some kind. "I made it myself, way back during my time in D.C. It'll cut through just about anything or anyone you need it to."

"I- thank you," I say the the mercenary. The blade is very finely crafted, light and simple. It feels great in my hand, as if it was made for someone my size.

"Don't mention it. Just take care of it." I nod, and Wolfgang walks up.

"Well, if we're all ready, I'd like to head out. The sooner we head out, the sooner we all get where we're going." Jax grunts in agreement, and grabs his shotgun from the rock it was sitting on. Together, the three of us look one last time at the city, and begin our journey.

* * *

 **Hello once again. Another relatively long wait, but here is chapter 3. I swear I have a plan for this, I'm just doing as much as I can, when I can. I hope you liked it, but please feel free to comment and tell me what you think. I promise I won't cry if you didn't like it. Anyway, have a good day, and I'll see you in the next chapter.**


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